[Menvi-discuss] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Adopts Unified English Braille (UEB) for United States

Fri Nov 9 11:57:47 EST 2012

For those not using notetakers to read, the parentheses David
mentioned are dot 5 gh-sign or 1-2-6 for the opening parenthesis and
dot 5 ar-sign or dots 3-4-5 for the closing one. I can certainly
appreciate the unification of codes with other countries. I just think
some of those contractions like ation saved a lot of space and books
will become more expensive to braille and more bulky. The same problem
applies with two-cel punctuation symbols. It will probably be easy to
learn. It just seems to defeat some of the purpose of being able to
read it at the first touch. I think I'll go to Grade 3 even more
heavily. LOL.

On 11/9/12, Bettie Downing <bnbdowning70 at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> Walking into the wrong bathroom brings up a funny thing that happened to me
> at a Braille convention.  I was asked to escort a blind lady into the ladies
> room and while she and I were chatting I inadvertently escorted us both into
> the mens room instead.  We went ahead with our business not even noticing
> until a man walked in and saw us.  He quipped, "Looks like we have the blind
> leading the blind!"
>
>
> On Nov 9, 2012, at 9:58 AM, Brandon Keith Biggs wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> Is there a difference between grade 2 and UEB? I guess I've never seen
>> UEB...
>> And I totally agree with the need for Braille, I find it interesting the
>> statistic NFB gives that the job employment among the blind is equal to
>> the Braille literacy.
>> I'm not a very fast Braille reader, but I have no idea where I would be
>> without Braille. I use it in every day life all the time without thinking
>> about it. It has saved me from walking into the wrong bathroom many
>> times!
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>> -----Original Message----- From: Kaiti Shelton
>> Sent: Friday, November 09, 2012 7:44 AM
>> To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
>> Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Adopts Unified
>> English Braille (UEB) for United States
>>
>> The real point is, if we can get more people reading braille, it's
>> more important than the specific code they're reading.  This seems to
>> be one of those rare cases where quantity is more important than
>> quality, at least in terms of the type of code.  Don't take that to
>> mean quality of braille knowledge, but as long as someone is literate
>> in braille in some form, I think it is more important than harping on
>> whether they read grade 2 or UEBC.  Personally, like many people, I
>> can see myself favoring grade 2 because it's what I have been reading
>> since I learned how, but as long as I can still read my files from
>> Bookshare, Web Braille, etc, I don't really mind which code is the
>> official one, or which one others read as long as they're reading it.
>>
>> Thank goodness music braille hasn't been changed though.  Just as an
>> interesting tidbit, my theory and aural skills instructor has taught
>> himself how to produce braille music files using lime and another
>> online source, and has even learned a surprising amount of the music
>> code itself.  He thinks that in some respects braille music is a more
>> efficient system than print music.  Seriously, he is the first person
>> I've ever met who thinks of it in that way, which is especially
>> surprising because my TVI's wouldn't teach me the code and he just
>> picked it up for a student and out of his own interest.
>>
>> On 11/9/12, Dani L Pagador <axs.brl at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi, Everyone.
>>> Look here for more info re UEBC.
>>> <http://www.iceb.org/ueb.html>
>>> I don't have any thoughts one way or the other. I'll learn whatever I
>>> need
>>> to to keep reading and doing and being. I don't think changes are
>>> immediate,
>>> so this gives everyone, including me, an opportunity to adjust.
>>> More Later,
>>> Dani
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf
>>> Of
>>> Jared Rimer, MENVI webmaster
>>> Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 7:42 PM
>>> To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
>>> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] BANA Adopts Unified
>>> English
>>> Braille (UEB) for United States
>>>
>>> Hi Folks,
>>> A lot of you may have seen this already, but I'm interested in your
>>> thoughts.  This press release was sent on the fourth of November,
>>> dealing
>>> with UEB for the United States.  I am interested in your thoughts.
>>>
>>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>> Subject: [BANA-Announce] BANA Adopts Unified English Braille (UEB)
>>> for
>>> United States
>>> Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 01:20:08 +0000
>>> From: <Kim.Charlson at Perkins.org>
>>> To: <BANA-Announce at brailleauthority.org>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> //
>>>
>>> *Press Release*
>>>
>>> *November 2012*
>>>
>>> **
>>>
>>> *For Immediate Release*
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> CONTACT: Frances Mary D'Andrea, Chair
>>>
>>> Braille Authority of North America
>>>
>>> Phone: 412-521-5797
>>>
>>> Email: literacy2 at mindspring.com <mailto:literacy2 at mindspring.com>
>>>
>>> **
>>>
>>> *BANA Adopts Unified English Braille (UEB) for United States*
>>>
>>> On November 2, 2012, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) set a
>>> new
>>> course for the future of braille in the United States (U.S.) when it
>>> adopted
>>> Unified English Braille (UEB). The motion, which passed decisively,
>>> specifies that UEB will eventually replace the current English Braille
>>> American Edition and that the U.S. will retain the Nemeth Code for
>>> Mathematics and Science Notation.
>>>
>>> The transition to UEB will not be immediate and will follow a carefully
>>> crafted timeline. Implementation plans will be formulated with the input
>>> and
>>> participation of stakeholders from the consumer, education,
>>> rehabilitation,
>>> transcription, and production communities. Plans will take into
>>> consideration the various aspects of creating, teaching, learning, and
>>> using
>>> braille in a wide variety of settings. The plans will be designed to
>>> provide
>>> workable transitions for all involved in braille use and production and
>>> to
>>> minimize disruption for current braille readers.
>>>
>>> UEB is based on the current literary braille code and was developed with
>>> input from many people, primarily braille readers, who worked to achieve
>>> an
>>> optimal balance among many key factors. Those factors include keeping
>>> the
>>> general-purpose literary code as its base, allowing the addition of new
>>> symbols, providing flexibility for change as print changes, reducing the
>>> complexity of rules, and allowing greater accuracy in back translation.
>>>
>>> Letters and numbers will stay the same as they are in the current
>>> literary
>>> code. There will be some changes to punctuation, but most will remain
>>> the
>>> same. Some rules for the use of contractions will change.
>>> Nine contractions will be eliminated, and some contractions will be used
>>> more often. A FAQ providing more detail about changes is available on
>>> the
>>> BANA website.
>>>
>>> After implementation, the official braille codes for the United States
>>> will
>>> be /Unified English Braille/; /Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science
>>> Notation, 1972 Revision/ and published updates; /Music Braille Code,
>>> 1997/;
>>> and /The IPA Braille Code, 2008/.
>>>
>>> More detailed information about UEB and the motion that BANA passed can
>>> be
>>> found on the BANA website at www.brailleauthority.org
>>> <http://www.brailleauthority.org/>.
>>>
>>> /The Board of BANA consists of appointed representatives from fifteen
>>> member
>>> organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and
>>> consumers./
>>>
>>> //
>>>
>>> /The mission and purpose of the Braille Authority of North America are
>>> to
>>> assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of
>>> braille
>>> and/or tactile graphics. BANA promotes and facilitates the use,
>>> teaching,
>>> and production of braille. It publishes rules, interprets, and renders
>>> opinions pertaining to braille in all existing codes. It deals with
>>> codes
>>> now in existence or to be developed in the future, in collaboration with
>>> other countries using English braille. In exercising its function and
>>> authority, BANA considers the effects of its decisions on other existing
>>> braille codes and formats; the ease of production by various methods;
>>> and
>>> acceptability to readers. /
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Kaiti
>>
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